Survivor

For some reason, the last few days there have been a number of bees and wasps floating in the pool when we visit. Nobody likes bumping into a drowned bug, and those particular insects are scary dead or alive, so it's usually my habit to splash them into the skimmer.

If, in the ride to the side of the pool, the poor soul weakly waves an antenna or leg, either in reality or my imagination, then my action plan is different: she is lifted up and out of the pool in a wee handful of water to sputter and dry and hopefully fly away. That's the best case scenario, anyhow, although these last two days at the pool have had a high insect mortality rate.

Until tonight, that is: tonight the large wasp that I found in the deep end literally shook her head once she hit dry land. After that her actions were more like a dog than a bug. First, she wagged her back end, presumably to get rid of any excess liquid. Then she buzzed her wings to try to fly, but she must have been too heavy, so she jiggled each leg dry, and then used them to squeegee the rest of her body.

In between each motion her wings rose up and vibrated, until at last enough of the pool water was gone so that she could lift her body into the air and fly back home to her sisters.